App of the day: Sprint Driver review (iPhone)

Take one bike, the open road and a bunch of hazardous trucks, lane-swerving police cars and, er, trails of collectable coins, pop it onto a gyro-controlled Apple device and - boom - we have Sprint Driver. The tilt-to-control mechanism game is not so much about racing, it's about surviving.

Sprint Driver

Sprint Driver charmed us from the off with its relatively good looks and quality effects. But the first time we played it we were, well, utterly pants and quickly ended up flattened under a 40-tonne truck.

Far from being deterred, the game spurred us on to continue and to get better and better. And we did: you'll need fast eyes and deft of hand to manoeuvre the control device between left and right to avoid the road's hazards.

At various points throughout, the three lanes are clogged up with vehicles that you can either slyly slip past if you're accurate - or, and more likely, a bit lucky - or drive off the road entirely to get by. Problem is, there are burnt-out cars, trees, roadworks and other hazards that can get in your way from there too.

The more coins you collect the more buying power you'll acquire. That basic scooter that all players start with will eventually upgrade into a beefier bike and beyond; while the landscape can also be upgraded to new "levels" in a similar way.

Sprint Driver isn't one we'd play out in public, as the whole tilt-to-steer mechanism will make you look utterly bonkers, but it's tickled us a fair bit for those moments when there's nothing on TV and you feel that determination to get further than the 100-metres of your previous best attempt.

Sprint Driver's road is one heck of a long one that seemingly goes to nowhere. Cue classic driving songs. Well, we say that, but all the action is carried out to an on-loop weighty techno soundtrack. You'll probably reach for the mute button after a few minutes of play in a bid to slow your heart rate down.

There may well be ads at the top of the screen, but this is a free game and that's what makes it an obvious must have for any Apple device owner. Sprint Driver takes a while to bite, but once it sinks in it's a good looking slice of gyro-based fun that'll have you dipping in for yet more.